There was a moment of calm under Giant Jack as the 16 participants stared each other down, waiting for someone to make the first move. Between the Shandians, the Priest, the Knight of the Sky, the Master of the Sky, and the God of the Sky, tensions were high.
The Blue Sea dwellers, on the other hand, had varied reactions to the new development. Zoro looked utterly bored, Sanji was needlessly assuring Nami and Robin that he'd protect them, Nami was rolling her eyes at Sanji, Usopp was holding his slingshot above his head in a sign of false bravado that belied the trembling of his legs, Chopper was asking Luffy what a battle royale was, Robin was looking utterly bored, and Luffy was explaining to Chopper what a battle royale was in a rather grandiose manner, utilizing the term "man's romance" multiple times.
"As amusing as this little byplay is," Enel continued, raising an eyebrow in amusement, "You all really should focus on the matter at hand. You see, only 5 of you can come with me to the Holy Land. The rest of you will be returned to the Blue Sea along with the rest of Skypiea. You may either decide amongst yourselves, or battle for the right. It is your decision."
The Shandians and Gan Fall were silent as they took in what Enel had just implied. Gan Fall had already had a sneaking suspicion, but this confirmed it.
"You demon," the knight growled. "You plan to destroy Skypiea, along with all of its inhabitants!?"
"That is the natural order of things, is it not?" Enel replied, sounding almost bored. "God is a destroyer. His job is to restore order. For mortals to live above the clouds, to thrive in the sky like gods...it's heresy, don't you think? It is only right that I return them to their natural environment."
Most of the Strawhats stared incredulously at the declaration. He spoke so casually about what could practically be considered genocide. Even Ohm looked surprised at this news, having heard nothing of it beforehand.
"Now," Enel continued, "which of you will come with me to Fairy Vearth, and which of you will return to the Blue Sea?" The tension skyrocketed as all parties involved gripped their weapons.
"I'll return to the Blue Sea," a voice spoke up, and everyone turned to stare at Luffy, who was cracking his knuckles. "After I kick your ass from here to Fairy Vearth, of course."
Enel looked amused. "How insolent."
"But before that, I have a question for you," Luffy continued. "Who was the other Blue Sea dweller that came here before us?"
Enel raised an eyebrow. "Why does that matter? Do you presume to know him? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You both have a tendency to provoke powers far beyond your understanding."
"You can tell me, or I can beat it out of you," Luffy said nonchalantly.
Enel stated laughing. "Oh, I'll definitely enjoy beating that out of you, mortal," he exclaimed. "But if you really must know, I am not aware of his true name. Only that, if I remember correctly, he went by the moniker of Blackbeard."
Robin's eyes widened, while Zoro's narrowed.
"So, it's true then," Luffy muttered. "But that doesn't make sense." He looked at Enel as if trying to solve some sort of puzzle. "How are you even alive right now?"
Enel looked annoyed for the first time hearing that question. "Are you implying that he was a match for me? That fool never even made it to Giant Jack. Once he took down Shura, I found that my patience was beginning to wane, and decided to intervene. I'll admit, it was impressive that he survived my El Thor that many times, but in the end, he and his pathetic crew retreated back to the Blue Sea like so many others." Enel cracked a smile. "I never had to leave God's Shrine!"
Surprisingly, this caused Luffy to start laughing. Enel grew confused at this reaction, but soon his annoyance returned.
"You'd be wise not to laugh at omnipotence, foolish monkey," he growled. Luffy calmed down and looked at Enel again.
"That explains it," he said. "Haki was never his strong suit. The idiot never even found you. I wonder if he even knew someone was attacking him, or if he just thought it was raining lightning over his head." Enel only scowled in response.
After that, the tension broke. Wiper made the first move, aiming his bazooka at Enel, but Ohm was quick to intercept the cannonball that he shot, which exploded against a large wall of iron that protruded out from his sword handle.
"God does not need to be bothered with you mortals. I'll be enough to finish this."
Wiper growled as he switched his bazooka to its 'burn' setting. Before he had a chance to fire it off, however, Ohm's iron cloud sword was chasing him, and he was forced to dodge out of the way. As the two got ready to clash again, they heard a loud hiss, and turned their heads upwards to the sight of the Master of the Sky glaring down at them. Wiper aimed his bazooka at her and fired, but the barrage of flames barely left a mark on the snake's scales as she swept her tail towards the two at an astounding speed. Wiper used his waver skates to maneuver out of the way, but Ohm wasn't as fast, and resorted to blocking with his iron cloud.
It didn't work.
The weapon shattered, barely cushioning the blow enough for Ohm to remain unharmed after being thrown off his feet. His mantra screamed at him, but he wasn't fast enough to prevent the fangs of the giant python from sinking into him.
Enel was, however.
Nola hissed in agony as she was hit by a lightning bolt and every muscle in her body started to spasm.
"It would seem that this is a little above your pay grade, Ohm," Enel mocked as he appeared next to the slightly shaken priest.
"You don't pay me," he retorted. The self proclaimed god laughed.
"Fair point," he conceded as he charged up another lightning blast, aimed at the still twitching python. There was a loud clap of thunder as he released it, and it shot towards the Master of the Sky in the span of a millisecond.
Enel's brow furrowed as he observed the result of his divine intervention. His lightning had stopped short of her. It had simply dispersed. But how? His eyes widened as the dust cleared, and two figures stood almost protectively in front of the snake. They each held an arm out, as if commanding the lightning to stop would achieve the desired results.
The crazy part was that it seemed to have worked.
Of the seven Blue Sea intruders, these were the only two that had yet to lift a finger since coming to Skypiea. Now they had, and Enel didn't like what he was seeing. To think they could stop one of his lightning attacks. They would have to be dealt with. He started charging up another, much more powerful lightning bolt, before unleashing it onto the two insolent mortals.
"Sango."
Zoro immediately drew Yubashiri from its sheathe and cleaved the lightning bolt down the middle, causing it to disperse again, but Enel was already following up by teleporting right next to the swordsman using his powers.
"Max 200 Million Volt Discharge!"
As the electricity surrounded him, Zoro waved his sword in a downward spiral.
"Fujin's Barrier." A dense whirlwind howled to life around him, once again repelling the massive amounts of electricity closing in on him.
Enel teleported away, and stood facing the smirking swordsman with a gobsmacked expression.
As all the observers watched on in amazement, Nami was particularly interested in the encounter.
He condensed a large amount of air into a whirlwind so that it would insulate the electricity. Air is one of the worst conductors. Add his armaments haki to the equation, and I'm not that surprised that Enel's attack was negated.
"Guys!" Luffy shouted, getting the attention of the Strawhats. "You all got to fight already, so just leave this to Zoro and me!"
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "You mean we're going to team up? Isn't that overkill?"
"Hmm, you may be right," Luffy conceded. "So, how do we decide who gets him?"
In response, Zoro held out his fist. Luffy sweatdropped.
"Uh...you sure?" Zoro nodded.
The rubberman shrugged. "Ok then." Everyone but the Strawhats watched in incredulity as the two played rocks paper scissors. But even the Strawhats were in for a shock as they witnessed something they'd never seen before: Luffy's jaw dropping. "Wha–you–but–" he stuttered as Zoro grinned in satisfaction. "You always pick rock!" Luffy objected.
"Hmm? Oh, that," Zoro acknowledged. "Well, scissors is pretty good too. It cuts things, after all. So I thought I'd use a different strategy this time."
It was Luffy's turn to stare in incredulity. The worst part is that I know he's serious...
"There's no strategy in rocks paper scissors! It's supposed to be a chance game!"
"Hmph. The loser is talking shit to the winner as if he knows the game better," was the swordsman's reply.
Luffy's expression fell deceptively blank. "Right. I'm kicking your ass later," he said before walking away and standing next to the other Strawhats, some of whom were laughing.
Enel felt his patience wearing thin. "Such complacency! Don't think just because you stopped a few of my attacks that you can afford to take my lightly! I am God!"
"I'm not taking you lightly," Zoro replied as he drew a second sword. "It's just that you don't exist, and I don't lose to people who don't exist," he reasoned.
"This defiance has gone on long enough," the logia user seethed. "Prepare yourself, Blue Sea swordsman."
"Don't even think about it! Enel's head is mine!" Wiper roared as he too grew tired of their antics and charged at Enel. Unlike Gan Fall, who had stood aside in respect for the Strawhats, who he considered allies, Wiper had no qualms about interrupting a fight. However, he was intercepted by Ohm, who had drawn a smaller iron cloud sword, one that wasn't freeform.
Wiper blocked the sword with his bazooka and reached over the sword with his arm, pointing his palm at Ohm. The priest, assuming it was in Impact Dial, used mantra to dodge, leaping backwards, but Wiper was quick to fire another barrage of flames at him. He gritted his teeth as the heat from the attack he wasn't in a position to dodge reached him. Having lost his primary weapon was limiting him. He needn't have worried, however, as Enel once again intervened, teleporting in front of Ohm and casually repelling the flames by superheating the surrounding air, resulting in a clap of thunder.
"Your assistance is unneeded, Ohm. Stay back and observe," the ruler of Skypiea ordered. The priest obliged, backing away to a safe distance. Wiper wasted no time and ran at Enel again. Enel, assuming he could phase through the attack, stood still and readied another electrical discharge. His attack was halted, however, when Wiper jumped on him, using his legs to constrict his the lightning man's arms. Enel's eyes widened as his body was forcefully solidified. Seastone!?
"It's over," Wiper growled as he brought his palm to Enel's heart. "Reject!"
Enel's heart ceased to beat.
"What happened?" Usopp asked from the sidelines. "I thought Enel was a logia!"
"It would seem that Shandian came prepared," Robin said. "His skates are lined with seastone."
Luffy raised an eyebrow. Is it over already? He turned to Zoro. Meeting his captain's eyes, the swordsman shook his head. Luffy turned back and continued to watch.
Wiper had once again wasted no time. Ignoring the immense damage to his arm, he aimed his bazooka at Ohm, who was shocked into indecision, and fired. The priest's cry of agony was drowned out by the roar of the flames that consumed him. As the flames died down, Ohm's charred and unconscious form was revealed. He looked to be barely alive.
Thinking the battle over, Wiper slumped to the ground in exhaustion, holding his shattered arm. He soon looked up, however, to the horrifying sight of Enel rising, small arcs of electricity circling around his chest.
"What a shame. Had you kept the seastone in contact until I lost consciousness, I actually would have perished," the logia stated. He gritted his teeth. "How unbefitting. Learn your place, mortal." He raised his arm into the air. "El Thor!"
The bolt of lightning rained down on the injured war demon, who was lost to a bright flash of light and a clap of thunder. When the attack subsided, the observers were shocked to Wiper rising to his feet through sheer force of will.
"Why do you stand, War Demon Wiper?" Enel mocked.
Breathing heavily, the Shandian answered, "For my ancestors." The other Shandians grew emotional hearing this, and attempted to run to Wiper's aid, but they were too slow, and were forced to watch in horror as Enel charged up another lightning blast.
"Kiten!"
A large wolf shaped bolt of lightning shot towards Wiper, but was cut in half and dispersed.
Enel narrowed his eyes. "You again."
Zoro stood in front of Wiper, swords raised, as he glanced back at the heavily scorched warrior with a hint of respect. A few more of those attacks would have killed him for sure. Still, it's impressive that he survived that. The dial he used before had some serious recoil.
"Take a breather," he told the Shandian. "I'll take over from here."
Wiper, despite the intense pain he was in, gritted his teeth in annoyance.
Chopper came rushing over to him, Robin knowingly following behind just in case the warrior lashed out. When Chopper arrived with healing supplies, Wiper narrowed his eyes.
"I don't need your help, whatever you are," he growled. Chopper faltered.
"But...you're injured..." he protested.
"Shut up!" Wiper shouted. "Why do you care!? What does any of this have to do with you people anyway!?"
"If you must know, we're keeping a promise to a friend," Luffy replied.
"A friend?" Wiper asked. "What kind of promise would bring a Blue Sea dweller to the sky?"
Robin spoke up at that point. "400 years ago, there was a sailor from the Blue Sea, who was lured to the island of Jaya in the middle of a storm by the ringing of a rather loud bell." Wiper's eyes widened as he heard this, and Robin continued. "There, the sailor became good friends with one of the inhabitants of the island, although his name was never mentioned. They shared a promise that the sailor would one day return. Years later, he did, but the civilization had vanished completely. I'm sure you know what happened to that island."
Wiper swallowed thickly.
"Mere days ago, our crew made a promise with one of that sailor's descendents. We promised to ring the bell mentioned in that sailor's logbook to prove his authenticity."
"That descendent," Wiper spoke up. "What was his name?"
"Montblanc Cricket," Robin replied.
Hearing this, Wiper let out a heavy sigh. "Calgara," he said. Robin gave him a questioning look. "The great Shandian warrior, Calgara. That was the name of the man Noland befriended."
Robin smiled genuinely. "I see." They both turned back to the fight between Zoro and Enel, only to see that the swordsman was controlling the fight, but without actually attacking.
"You'll have to do more than defend if you want to defeat me!" Enel shouted as he let loose a Thunder Bird and Thunder Beast in quick succession. Zoro blocked them both with his two sword style.
"If you insist," he said, before swinging one sword at Enel and firing off a miniscule flying slash. The wind blade left a gash across Enel's cheek, shocking him to the core.
"H-how?" he stuttered.
"Complacent logias have short life spans, immortal or otherwise," Zoro stated, paraphrasing a common idiom from the New World.
Recovering from his shock, Enel raised the stakes. "Julungul!" He roared, sending a huge dragon shaped lightning blast at Zoro.
"Two Sword Style, 720 Caliber Phoenix!" The wind overpowered the lightning once again, barreling through Enel's attack and hitting the logia dead on.
Enel gasped in pain as blood flowed from the open wound on his torso. "It...can't be..." rasped. As Zoro raised his sword again, Enel felt something he hadn't felt since long before the destruction of Birka: fear. His human survival instincts kicked in as Zoro ran towards him.
"One Sword Style, Great Dragon Shock." He tapped into reflexes he had long forgotten he had, vanishing from the swordsman's path in a crackle of electricity just before Yubashiri was swung through the space he had previously occupied.
Zoro looked out at the horizon, tracking Enel with his observation haki even as the lightning man retreated farther and farther away using his devil fruit powers. He raised his sword overhead using both arms, closing his eyes as he did so, and finally sensed Enel come to a stop.
"You're still within range," the swordsman mumbled, knowing Enel would hear him. Immediately, an El Thor began forming high over his head.
"Zoro watch out!" Usopp shouted, though it wasn't necessary. There were no fancy techniques this time; Zoro barely payed the oncoming assault any attention, he simply leapt out of the way of the lightning bolt before it came down. Standing off to the side in the same stance, Zoro swept his sword in a wide arc. "One Sword Style, Predator Missile!" The flying slash was launched over the horizon, cutting down any obstacles in its path, crossing the White White Sea, and finally arriving at the Angel Island shore, where it cleaved through Enel's abdomen effortlessly. The self proclaimed god sank to the ground, and the sand was dyed red by his very much human blood as he blacked out.
A/N: Done! I personally like this chapter better than the last one. I hope you all feel the same, and that it wasn't too anticlimactic. Until next time, Lost out.